My heart sunk, like a sinking ship with no life rafts.
She knew he was trying to find her birth parents, which meant she knew that she was adopted. The weight of that could’ve buried me in the ground, and yet here this girl was, standing on her own two feet asking Stetson about it.
Her eyes glistened as tears threatened to expose her, but instead she softly nodded and smiled. Her wordless response was enough to break me.
It must’ve broken Stetson too because he pulled her into his arms, using his strength to cover her in a blanket.
“Thanks for letting me come tonight, Uncle Stetson. It was the best. When are you going to be back in Nashville?”
“Soon, I promise. I just have to finish this album. But maybe we can talk your aunt Lucy into letting you stay with me for a couple of weeks once you’re out of school.”
Out of school… That had to be the end of May, right? Which meant he was planning on staying in Quincey Falls at least another couple of months. Selfishly, I was elated. We’d never even broached the topic of what would happen once he was done with his album, and this just bought us more time.
“Really?” she asked.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you! I love you.”
The revelation brought a brief reprieve from her sadness, a genuine smile dancing across her face and even lingering for a bit.
“I love you too. More than you’ll ever know.” His eyes wandered as she held her body against his. I couldn’t help but wonder where he was, because he wasn’t here with us.
“Ruby, are you ready?” The man who had been put on Ruby duty strolled back into view. “I promised your aunt that I would have you home before midnight and it’s already eleven.”
“Ready,” she responded. “Bye, Uncle Stetson! Bye, Scarlett!” She waved.
“Bye.” Our voices echoed one another’s with the same enthusiasm.
“My heart hurts for her,” I blurted, fidgeting with the ring on my finger.
“Tell me about it. Each day I don’t find her birth parents makes me lose a little more hope because I can’t imagine having to witness the look on her face if I fail,” he said, shuddering at the thought.
“Hey,” I said, offering a bit of comfort as I rested my hand on his bicep. “If there is one thing I know about you, it’s that you’re determined. You’ll find them.”
His gaze rose to mine. “Come on, I wanna show you something,” he said, snatching my hand and dragging me with him.
“Here you go, Linda,” he called out to the grumpy woman from earlier. He plucked out his earpieces and snagged the black box from his jean pocket, tossing it all in her direction. “Have a good weekend.”
I caught a glimpse of her face as we blurred past, and I could’ve sworn I saw the tiniest smile creeping out from under her lips.
We dodged a bunch of people scurrying around backstage, each with at least one thing in their hands, moving a million miles per hour. I’d never realized how much went on behind the scenes until I saw it up close and personal.
“Michael—” Stetson started, but he didn’t get much further than that because Michael clearly couldn’t wait.
“Stetson, man, that new song was incredible. You should be damn proud,” he boasted. “And Scarlett, I’m starting to think you’re his good luck charm. I don’t care what Stetson says, you’re welcome backstage anytime you want.”
I smirked. “I’ll hold you to that.”
“And she will… hold you to that,” Stetson chimed in. “But thanks, man. Means a lot,” he said, shaking his hand before embracing him in a hug. “Are we good to go out this door?” he asked, motioning to the two large metal doors labeled with an illuminated red exit sign above them.
“Yeah, yeah, of course. I have your truck parked right outside, and there should be someone at the back gate to let you out. If not, just call me and we’ll get you out of here,” he said, opening the door for us. “Do you want anyone to go with you?”
“Nah, we’re good. I’m taking her somewhere no one will find us.” His lips perked up to one side. “We’ll be fine.”
“You two have fun and let me know if you need anything.”
“Will do,” Stetson agreed. “Have a good night.”
